From Medical Model to a Social Model
(Smartboy10, 2018)
There are many ways people assume and perceive things. But the most important thing we can do for each other is protecting each other’s health and well-being. Over decades, Medical practitioners, researchers, educators, scientists, sociologists and society have had different dialogues around social models and medical disability. According to the disability policy of scholars there are several ways of defining medical and social models of disability. Scholars describe “
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"medical model of disability as a defect or sickness which must be cured through medical intervention" (Kaplan, n.d.).
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"(a) rehabilitation model, an offshoot of the medical model, disability as a deficiency that must be fixed by a rehabilitation professional or other helping professional" (Kaplan, n.d.).
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"Disability model, under which the problem is defined as a dominating attitude by professionals and others, inadequate support services when compared with society generally, as well as attitudinal, architectural, sensory, cognitive, and economic barriers, and the strong tendency for people to generalize about all persons with disabilities overlooking the large variations within the disability community” (Kaplan, n.d.)
The medical model and social model have their own strengths and limits. When people have different understand about disability and use different model as strategy based, the practice of disabled children will be influenced.
(Inclusion, n.d.)
Disability in Canada
The concept of disability in Canada has evolved from a more medical model to a social model over the past few decades (Smith-Carrier, Kerr, Wang, Tam, & Ming Kwok, 2017; Nisker, 2019).
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In the Parliament in 1981, Canadians were aware of the problems that disabled people faced through data quantifying the obstacles they faced in society. Therefore, it was suggested that the state should collect relevant data on disabled persons on a long-term basis to provide an analytical basis for understanding the obstacles that persons with disabilities face in society (Furrie, 2018).
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With the collection and analysis of disability data, the Canadian concept of disability has also changed (Furrie, 2018). People realize that disability is not only a growth defect in the human body, but also is a combination of environmental obstacles, such as physical and “attitudinal barriers” (Ontario Human Rights Commission, n.d.). Unlike the medical model, the social model recognizes that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate fully in society by addressing environmental barriers (Furrie, 2018).
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Seven years after the Parliament, people in a report proposed to help everyone fully participate in social activities by eliminating barriers. This report "provides a vision and a guiding framework" for disability inclusion in Canada (Furrie, 2018). The social model is more consistent with "the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)" (Furrie, 2018).
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In 2010, Canada ratified UNCRPD’s document which strengthened Canada’s commitment to the inclusion of people with disabilities (Marcil, 2018; Furrie, 2018).
References:
Furrie, A. (2018). The evolution of disability data in Canada: Keeping in step with a more inclusive Canada.
Retrieved from https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/89-654-x/89-654-x2018003-eng.htm
Inclusion [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com/blogs.brighton.ac.uk/dist/a
/3227/files/2017/11/inclusion-1-2hivr9e.jpg
Kaplan, D. (n.d.). The definition of disability . Retrieved from http://www.accessiblesociety.org/topics
/demographics-identity/dkaplanpaper.htm
Smith-Carrier, T., Kerr, D., Wang, J., Tam, D., & Ming Kwok, S. (2017). Vestiges of the medical model: a critical
exploration of the Ontario Disability Support Program in Ontario, Canada. Disability & Society, 32(10),
1570–1591. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2017.1359495
Marcil, E. (2018). Social Model of Disability. Retrieved from http://aqeips.qc.ca/en/guide/defense-of-rights
/social-model-of-disability/
Nisker, J. (2019). Social model of disability must be a core competency in medical education. Canadian
Medical Association. Journal, 191(16), E454–E454. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.71861
Ontario Human Rights Commission. (n.d.). What is disability? Retrieved from http://www.ohrc.on.ca
/en/policy-ableism-and-discrimination-based-disability/2-what-disability
Smartboy10. (2018). Group of People with Different Disabilities stock illustration. [Digital image]. Retrieved
from https://media.istockphoto.com/vectors/group-of-people-with-different-disabilities-vector-
id1084299952